CLEVELAND – With a sweep of Cleveland State, the Milwaukee volleyball team won its seventh match in a row, in the process, clinched the fifth seed in the Horizon League Volleyball Championship.
 
The Panthers put together a balanced effort throughout the match to knock off the Vikings, 25-23, 25-14, and 25-22. Collectively, Milwaukee hit .190 with 39 kills on 37 assists, while the defense held CSU to 35 kills and a .110 hitting percentage.
 
Kara Erdmann led the defensive effort with 18 digs, while the Panthers totaled 10 team blocks, paced by seven from Sam Vanda and six from Josie Noble.
 
Vanda and Noble each added to the offensive effort with seven and six kills, respectively, , trailing only Natalie Schmitz, who finished with a team-high 11. Josie Johnson dished out 17 assists and Milica Tomic added 14.
 
"What a win today," exclaimed Susie Johnson. "Cleveland State came to battle, but we continued to battle back and fight our way to that win. What a tremendous team effort all around. I'm proud of how determined this group was to win."
 
Milwaukee's two-point win in the opening set came after a resilient effort, as the frame featured nine lead changes and 14 ties. MKE led 23-21 late before CSU pulled even at 23 but the Panthers claimed the next two points to take the early 1-0 lead.
 
Cleveland State led 4-3 in the early stages of the second set before the Panthers responded by scoring four straight and eight of the next nine to build an 11-5 advantage. Milwaukee continued to widen the margin and closed the set with the final five points, including back-to-back kills from Ella Schuetz and an ace from Johnson.
 
The third set brought another back-and-forth battle, with seven lead changes and 13 ties. Milwaukee went up 9-6 before the Vikings answered to take a 10-9 lead and later move ahead 15-13.
 
Trailing 20-18, the Panthers surged back behind a CSU error, a block from Bella Lipski and Vanda, and a Vanda kill to reclaim the lead. Schuetz and Vanda delivered consecutive kills to put Milwaukee up 23-22, and Schmitz sealed the victory with the match-winning kill.
 
With the regular season complete, Milwaukee now turns its attention to the 2025 Horizon League Volleyball Championship next weekend at top-seeded Northern Kentucky. The Panthers will enter as the fifth seed and face fourth-seeded IU Indy in the second quarterfinal at 5:00 p.m. (CT) on Nov. 21.
 
Earlier Friday, third-seeded Youngstown State will take on sixth-seeded Green Bay. The winners will advance to Saturday's semifinals, where top-seeded Northern Kentucky and second-seeded Wright State Raiders await.